I hope this thread has not been duplicated elsewhere. If it has, I sincerely apologize.

I have a house that has a very nice NTSC antenna on top (or at least that is what it has been used for). This antenna was wired over 30 years ago using the twin-lead cable. This twin-lead cable is wired throughout the house. So there is not any coaxial cable in the house to the TVs or anywhere, for that matter.

My question is, can I connect converter boxes to this twin-lead cabling and get HD reception? I assume I need the traditional converter to go from twin-lead to coax, but aside from that, does anybody know if there will be problems?

Basically, I am wondering if the twin-lead is capable of carrying the HD signal from the traditional antenna.

I really appreciate your expertise on this matter. I have to believe there are a few people out there with this problem and I hope this thread can inform them of their options.

Thanks for your help!

Basically, I am wondering if the twin-lead is capable of carrying the HD signal from the traditional antenna.Yes, it should work fine, assuming the antenna and cable are still functional. You will need a 300 ohm to 75 ohm balun, with proper gender for connection.

I hope this thread has not been duplicated elsewhere. If it has, I sincerely apologize.

I have a house that has a very nice NTSC antenna on top (or at least that is what it has been used for). This antenna was wired over 30 years ago using the twin-lead cable. This twin-lead cable is wired throughout the house. So there is not any coaxial cable in the house to the TVs or anywhere, for that matter.

My question is, can I connect converter boxes to this twin-lead cabling and get HD reception? I assume I need the traditional converter to go from twin-lead to coax, but aside from that, does anybody know if there will be problems?

Basically, I am wondering if the twin-lead is capable of carrying the HD signal from the traditional antenna.

I really appreciate your expertise on this matter. I have to believe there are a few people out there with this problem and I hope this thread can inform them of their options.

Thanks for your help!

Good condition 300 ohm twinlead actually has less UHF attenuation/ft than most coax. It is sensitive to getting wet and being in proximity with metal, requires 6" standoffs on the metal antenna mast and watch out for metal roof flashing, metal windows, siding and screens, rain gutters and electrical junction boxes. Accessories, amps, baluns are much harder to come by now for it than 20 years ago since it's gender backwards from coax, but if it's working and in place already it's worth trying. Coax is so much more convienient its use has spread in the last couple decades.

Hi fellas!

Many thanks for your feedback and expertise. I picked up two RCA converter boxes at Walmart on the way home, so I am going to give this a go, hopefully this weekend. I am pretty sure I have some of those 75ohm converters sitting around in various AV boxes around the farm here. So I'll dig those out, plug in the boxes and see what I can get!

I just hope I got decent converter boxes. I used the two $40 coupons, and the tab was $23.xx for the two boxes. I think I read on this forum that the Magnavox is a popular and (good?) box, but they were out of those. Plenty of the RCAs in stock, so I grabbed two of those. I haven't had RCA gear in years, but I always thought their stuff was fairly reliable, albeit not premium quality, so I guess I'll find out.

Anybody know about these converter boxes? About the RCA or the Magnavox? The coupon stipulated a certain list of boxes I could buy and it was convenient enough. And for what it's worth, there is a ton of reviews at the Walmart website about both boxes - Magnavox and the RCA - and for people who actually sounded like they knew what they were doing, they worked well. Mostly the complaints came from people who had no clue how the technology worked or weren't aware of antenna issues, etc.

Thanks again!

Avoid the magnavox. Summary of reasons from the other threads:

- Pixelated images (poor scaler, shows stairstepping on curves)
- Overheats, many people drilling holes in case to help
- Poor signal strength compared with other boxes (doesn't pick up as many stations as others)

Hi guys.

I gave it a go today and it works, except that I can only get three of the ten local channels available by NTSC.

I noticed one guy here is from Northfield, MN. I get 9, 23, and 41 via the converter box (not including subchannels).

Is there a reason I do not get the other channels? I thought all these channels had completed the necessary changeovers. I am trying to figure out where the problem is.

If anybody has any insight, I sure would appreciate it.

Thanks!

You may need to make a trip up to the antenna and re-orient it. There is no margin of error with digital like there is analog. You may also need to get a different antenna, depending on what frequencies your locals are using for digital, which in most cases they are UHF. Combo UHF/VHF units may not be powerful enough for some UHF stations... Also I would replace the twin lead with RG-6 coax, at least on the outside where it has been exposed fo r all those years... A pre-amp may also be needed.

The twin lead cable will loose less signal then coax, it will also be interfered with easier. So it all depends on your situation.

It will pickup electrical noise if running near and especially along side electrical wiring.

It can loose signal if it runs near and especially along side metal of any sort.

With a digital signal loss of binary bits will be a big problem. What was OK with analog may not be so with digital.